The present invention relates generally to chair covers and supports, and, more specifically, to a highchair back support for supporting a child in an upright position and for preventing a child from sliding out of a highchair.
Highchairs are designed for a wide age range of children, from a young infant up to an age just before the child is old enough to sit on its own in a regular or booster chair. Younger children are often too small to sit in a highchair without additional back support to urge their bodies to the front of the highchair. Consequently, parents must often use a rolled-up towel, article of clothing or other cloth to position between the child and the seatback of the highchair.
Prior art seatback covers are designed either to protect the surface of the chair or to improve the aesthetic appearance of the chair. A laminated chair protector may be found by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,941 to Gerard. This design uses front and back panels of laminated paper to protect the finish of the chair in shipping, handling and/or storage.
The seatback cover in U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,898 to Bodrero uses front and back panels as well as side panels to conform to a vehicle-type seatback. However, in light of the present invention, the aforementioned designs are deficient in that they do not provide back support that fills the extra space left in a highchair occupied by a small child.
It is readily apparent that a new and improved highchair back support is needed that supports a child in an upright and upfront position and prevents the child from sliding therefrom. It is, therefore, to the provision of such an improvement that the present invention is directed.
Briefly described, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages by providing a highchair back support that fills extra space left in a highchair when a small child sits therein and supports the back of the child to prevent the child from sliding. Generally, the present invention, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a seatback cover, which slides over the back of a highchair and a support cushion, which removably attaches to the seatback cover.
More specifically, the seatback cover comprises front and back panels, which are joined on three sides, leaving an opening at the bottom of the cover. The seatback cover is easily slid over the back of the highchair and secured into position via hook-and-loop fastener. Hook-and-loop fasteners are also attached to the support cushion, and mating hook-and-loop fasteners are attached to the sides of the seatback cover, thereby allowing the support cushion to be removably attached to the seatback cover.
In an alternate embodiment, a single sheet of material is used to construct the seatback cover. The sheet of material is folded to form front and back panels, the front and back panels are then joined along its edges, wherein the bottom of the seatback cover remains open so that the cover can be slid over the seatback of the highchair as described in the preferred embodiment. In another alternate embodiment, the cushion can be secured to the seatback cover using ties, buckles, straps or any other suitable attaching means.
A feature and advantage of the present invention is to provide a new and improved highchair back support that prevents a child from sliding from a highchair.
Another feature and advantage of the present invention is provide a new and improved highchair back support that is portable thus making it suitable for use at restaurants and other locations.
Another feature and advantage of the present invention is to provide a new and improved low cost highchair back support for young children.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description and claims when read in light of the accompanying drawings.